APPLYING DEMOGRAPHIC-ANALYSIS TO STORE SITE SELECTION

This case study illustrates how applied demographic analysis can help structure business decisionmaking. We screened every one of several th ousand square miles within metropolitan Southern California to identif y the 10 best locations for a large supermarket catering to one-stop s hoppers. Locations were selected based on potential sales volume (irre spective of nearby competitors), future stability of the resident cons umer base, and specific demographic factors likely to enhance sales po tential among target shoppers (e.g., dual-earner families). The client placed as much importance on how the results were derived as on our r ecommendations. As a result, our analytic framework for comparing high -potential locations played a central role in structuring the client's thinking. This framework, together with the empirical analysis, illus trate how applied demographers can operationalize business questions a bout consumer markets and guide a client toward a more systematic way of reaching decisions.